


Four Element Heist

by achievement-bender (Themanofmanyhats)



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Alternate Universe - Past Lives, Blood, Fake AH Crew, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Violence, everyones a bender because i said so, there's no avatar in this world but ive got other things planned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-04-23 05:19:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19144360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Themanofmanyhats/pseuds/achievement-bender
Summary: Four elements, eleven benders and a bucketload of creative stupidity - that's what makes up the most notorious triad in Achievement City. Four elementsbetweeneleven benders, that is. Four elements under the control of one bender? Now that was just ridiculous. And very, very dangerous, as they’d soon find out.





	1. Water. Earth. Fire. Heist!

**Author's Note:**

> This AU was inevitable just look at my fucking username.
> 
> This is more inspired by Legend of Korra than Last Airbender because honestly the vibe works so well?? Gang ridden city??? 1920’s atmosphere??? Snazzy clothes?? Sign me the fuck up. 
> 
> This doesn’t actually take place in the world of Avatar because throwing ~~a bunch of white guys~~ the AH crew into that pre-built world feels like it needs more explanation than it’s worth. This is more or less a FAHC AU with bending on top of it, taking place in a Republic City inspired setting. Think New York smashed with Hong Kong circa 1920.
> 
> I… don’t know if or when I’m going to continue this though. This was fun to write but I’ve only got the bones of a plot and sewed them together to make this and unless I can figure out an actual story to write with it, this is where it ends. Hope this is enjoyable as it is though!
> 
> Oh, and [this track](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26FS3Z3Romw) from LOK absolutely sets the mood.

“Oh yeah, listen to that smooth jazz,” Gavin said from the back of the roadster. “Perfect heist tunes!"

Geoff rolled his eyes. They were barreling down the highway trying to escape a fleet of cops and the airhead was concerned about background music. Not like they could hear anything over the sirens anyway.

Those cops by the way? Complete overreaction. You ransack one cargo ship full of priceless antiques and suddenly you're public enemy number one. Weren’t there murders and shit the cops should be focusing on? Geoff was just stealing from the rich, which should honestly be considered a public service if you asked him.

The car screeched into a turn and Geoff clutched at the car door with white knuckles. The four in the back yelped, getting crushed by the bags of loot squished between them. Geoff glared across at Jack in the driver's seat, who wore a laid-back expression and her usual ocean blue shirt with the white flowers on it. It looked more like she was taking a nice seaside drive instead evading arrest. She caught him glaring, snorted, jerked the wheel, and sent their stolen, open-top, piece-of-shit station wagon into another 90 degree turn, probably out of spite.

“Jesus, you’re gonna kill us Jack!” Geoff yelled.

“Are you the one driving, Geoffrey? No, you’re not, so let me handle it.”

“I’m just asking you to be careful!”

“Since when have we ever been careful?”

“Sixth? Why the hell are we on Sixth Street?”

“Geoff, I swear- _Oof_!”

They pitched forward, hitting their heads on car seats, windshields, steering wheels and each other. Geoff looked behind him. A thick steel wire wrapped around their back fender, pulling them almost to a complete stop. Damned metalbending police.

“I got it!” Ryan said. He raised an arm, metalbent a blade out of his sleeve and slashed through the wire. Their car screeched to a start again, but that’d been more than enough time for the rest of the police fleet to get uncomfortably close.

Michael stood up. His burnt red vest had a few buttons popped and his coat was open. The deep brown cloth whipped in the breeze, crimson patterns flaring at its edges, and a wolf-bat snarling on its back. His newsie cap sat tight on his brow.

“Back off, pigs!” A fireball bloomed on his fist. It crashed into a police cruiser behind them, roasting the box frame and giving their own car an explosive speed boost.

Jack hit the gas and they were back at full throttle. There was a decent distance between them and the cops but the chase was still hot.

“They’re gaining again!” Jeremy said, “We gotta lose ‘em somehow.”

“Ooh!” Gavin popped his head in between Geoff and Jack and pointed forward. “Fire hydrant!”

Jack narrowed her eyes. “Take the wheel.”

“Yes ma’am,” Geoff answered, leaning over the console to steer.

Jack stood and jerked an arm upwards, popping the hydrant as it passed behind them. The spray shot into the air. With a wave of her hands, Jack bent it into a thin layer across the road and with a clenched fist, hardened it into ice. A police cruiser slid like a puck straight into an apartment complex. Two others pitched left and right, until they met each other in an explosive kiss. The rest slipped and slid for a bit, but rushed through and were back on their trail.

“Oh come on!” Jack said, taking back the wheel.

Gavin popped up in the center console again. “Michael, gas station!”

A devilish smirk popped up on Michael’s face. Gavin matched it and scoured through their stolen goods, bringing out the airbending staff he’d nicked from the ship.

Jeremy saw the set up coming. “You animals!”

Gavin hopped up on the back seat. “Blow it!”

Geoff whipped his head around. “You better fuckin not-” He was cut off by Michael completely disregarding his order.

A fireball shot out from Michael’s fist and exploded on impact with a gas pump. The entire station erupted. A shockwave of heat and flame engulfed the street and barreled towards them. Geoff screamed. Jack screamed. Jeremy screamed. Ryan… didn’t, but he was Ryan. Michael was cackling. And they all would’ve been flash fried if it weren’t for Gavin in the back, twirling his staff and airbending away the flames.

Once the fire died away, Geoff glared at the two. “What did I just say!”

“What’re you complaining about, I got those cops off our tail!” Michael said.

“If you ever do that again, I swear to the fucking spirits I will send your ass back to the electric plant.”

“Do it, pussy!”

“Enough!” Jack said, “Jeremy, Ryan, how’s it looking back there?”

“Coast is clear. This is our chance,” Ryan answered.

“Time for phase two,” Jeremy said, looking skywards. Above them flew police airships, massive metal balloons that chugged their way through the sky. Jeremy rubbed his hands like he was about to dig into a meal. “Which one are we going for?”

“That one,” Ryan pointed to the smallest one of the bunch, which made Jeremy _aww_ a little. “Easiest one to take over. But we need to get it lower.”

“Take out one of the propellers, that’ll bring it down a peg,” Geoff said.

“But that’ll give _us_ a shitty airship,” Ryan said.

“We’ll deal with it. Gavin can airbend it, y’know, keep it in the sky.”

“That’s a terrible idea!”

“Do you have any better plans?”

Ryan sighed. “No.”

“Propellor shot it is,” Jeremy said.

Geoff turned to him, which was an eyesore since Jeremy was in his heisting outfit - a long, purple overcoat with a blindingly orange shirt and piss yellow highlights wherever he could squeeze them in. His white, broad-brimmed hat was nowhere to be seen, probably blown off during the chase.

He stood, wound up his good arm and shot a fireball for the back propellor. It was powerful enough to go the distance but his aim was off. Another windup, another shot, a second miss.

“Shameful,” Michael said, shaking his head. “You’ve really let yourself go since your probending days.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Jeremy said. Another fireball, and this time it landed. “See, I still got it! Now let’s hijack this airship!”

The propellor spluttered smoke before it ground to a halt. The airship started sinking lower. Once it was close enough, Ryan flung a metal cable from the coil pack strapped at his waist, wrapping it around an anchoring hitch. He zipped out of the car and up towards the airship. Jeremy followed, propelling himself up by jets at his feet and fists, and Gavin unfurled his glider to join them.

Jack kept speeding forward. The airships kept pace, throwing down spotlights on their roadster as the sun started setting. Cop cars popped in from side streets and gathered at their tail.

Screaming came from above. Geoff glanced up to see a couple cops get thrown out the back of the airship. Some swung away on metal wires, some earthbent themselves a soft landing, and others made nice grease spots on the ground. Ryan popped his head out and gave them a thumbs up through the drop door.

The airship sailed until it was hovering right above them. Steel cords shot out from the drop door and Ryan bent them to wrap around the corners of the car. The airship pointed its nose upwards. Ryan strained, bending the wires taut. He pulled, then let them go slack, then pulled again, and let go again, and repeated until he finally let the wires go slack for good.

Ryan shook his head. “It’s not going up! We need some more oomph!”

Behind them, the cops were right up their crev, only held back by a flurry of fireballs from Michael. They needed to do this fast. Oomph. Geoff could do that.

“Alright, hold on to your little dicks!” Geoff yelled. Then he stood up, leaned over the side of the car and thrust an open-palmed hand straight down towards the asphalt. Winds whipped under the car, lurching it upwards just enough to give the cables the momentum they needed to lift them into the air.

It wasn’t a smooth ride. Geoff rocked out of the passenger’s seat and tumbled to the ground.

“Geoff!” Jack and Michael yelled, both clutching onto their seats so they didn’t follow him down.

The airbender managed to cushion his fall with a breeze, landing on his feet. He looked up to see the airship pulling farther and farther away, already too far to fly up to. Back on ground level, police started circling. A barrage of metal wires shot for his head. Geoff ducked and dodged, before sweeping an arm and smacking back a couple officers with a blast of wind.

“A little help down here!” he yelled.

Not a second later came the sound of a metal cord again, but this time from above. Geoff airbent himself upwards, catching Ryan’s cable and letting it carry him into the sky. He was almost above the rooftops when another coil wrapped around his ankle and yanked him downwards. His hands dragged across the rope, burning his palms, but he grasped even harder. Whoever was pulling him down was really putting their back into it. Just as his grip was about to fail, there was a deafening crack from above. Geoff knew that sound and closed his eyes so he wasn’t blinded by the bolt of lightning that carved over his head and pierced some poor guy’s heart. There wasn’t a scream, at least not one that could be heard over the roar of thunder, but the metal on Geoff’s ankle loosened. Ryan’s cable shot upwards.

“A little overkill,” he heard Jack say.

“Nothing’s overkill if it means saving Geoffrey,” Michael said, and then the kissass turned and winked at him as he passed.

A second later, and Geoff was climbing through the cargo door. Ryan was there to meet him, wearing his usual black leather jacket with the metal bands around his biceps. A few of the bands were missing, probably already stabbed into some cops during the hijacking. The dumb theatre mask he always wore was a little off-kilter, too.

“Thanks,” Geoff said, rubbing his skinned palms. He glanced around the police airship and smirked. “Feeling cozy, Rye-bread? Yearning for your old cop days?”

“Definitely not,” he said, probably rolling his eyes under his mask. “You wonder how we’ve never been caught and I can tell you it’s because the cops in this city are somehow stupider than we are.”

To punctuate, Ryan looked out the open door and sent a knife flying out of one of his sleeves. One of the police cars was suddenly painted red. Geoff couldn’t help but feel a little proud.

Ryan’s metalbending was a recently acquired skill but Geoff couldn’t imagine him without it. He was always a decent earthbender, but learning to bend metal was no easy feat  and there weren’t many people willing to teach it. Unless, of course, you made a fake identity as a middle-aged dad and joined Achievement City’s metalbending police force. So like Prometheus stealing fire from the gods, Ryan stole metalbending from shitty cops.

Ryan turned back to the airbender. “We need you out on top helping Gavin.”

“Ugh, but that’s grunt work, someone else do it.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Yes, let me just keep an airship afloat with my _earth_ bending. I’m sure that’ll go swimmingly.”  

“You’re a smart guy, you could figure out a way to make it work. Maybe you could bend a slab under us and float it away, or make a handle at the top and carry us or-”

“Talk about your stupid hypotheticals with Matt, not me. Now get up there or we’ll never make it out of the city.”

“Fine, fine. Is Jeremy in the cockpit?”

“Yes. And he can’t help keep this thing afloat either so don’t ask.”

“I wasn’t going to ask him, smartass. Have him switch out with Jack, we need our firebenders, y’know, firing.”

They both glanced at the police cruisers trailing them below and the airships quickly gaining.

“That’s the smartest thing to come out of your mouth all day, Ramsey.”

Geoff smiled just a crack. “I was leader of this triad for a reason, Rye-bread.”

“Emphasis on was,” he said under his breath.

“Mumble, mumble, I’m heading up.”

He found the ladder leading to the rooftop and heaved himself up. Geoff opened the trapdoor at the top and popped his head out. At the center of the roof was Gavin, dressed in his white dress shirt and sunny yellow vest, an orange sash tied around his waist. His arms twisted in circles around him, wind whipping in unison. Geoff snorted. The guy somehow managed to make the noble art of bending look like a bad interpretative dance. Despite that, Gavin was a brilliant airbender. He’d been trained in the ancient ways by old prudes called monks, in airbender-only villages where they didn’t have radios and made their own clothes and probably meditated for fun. No wonder why he left.

“Heard you needed some help, dipshit.”

“Oh, y’know, I’d appreciate it.” Gavin smiled, but from his chest heaving and the sweat running down his temple, he’d appreciate it a lot more than he let on.

Geoff joined the other airbender, the two beginning to circle, mimicking each other’s forms. The wind picked up, flicking up the sash at Gavin’s waist and snatching the edges of Geoff’s overcoat.

“Saw you nosedive out the car back there. It was magnificent. You did a flip and everything.”

“And you didn’t try to help? Asshole.”

“I was a little busy, Geoff. And Ryan had you covered.”

“Look at my hands. This blood is on you.”

“Sod off.” Gavin rolled his eyes, but they were both grinning.

The wind picked up even more as their bending really started to sync up. That was a quirk of airbending - it was always stronger when there was humor in the air.

They kept at it as the sun set behind them, two airbenders on top of a stolen airship, keeping the entire thing afloat just through their steady, circular movements. Jack and Ryan were in the cockpit, weaving the ship through Achievement City’s skyline, making straight for the mountains. Below them, in a car dangling off a few strands of cable, Jeremy and Michael rained hell on the streets below, setting the city alight one fireball at a time.

Gavin stared at the blazing trail behind them. “This is bloody cinematic.”

Geoff was about to agree, when suddenly another airship reared its head beside them, its sirens wailing. Geoff was about to send a blast to keep it at bay when he saw the captain explode into a bloodsoaked mess. Probably a few precision strikes from Ryan, judging from the crudeness and efficiency of it. Not a second later, the entire front half off the ship lit up like a match, courtesy of Michael and Jeremy. The hunk of metal was still wailing its sirens as it plunged straight for the ground.

None of the other airships tailing them wanted to meet the same fate. As the crew finally reached the mountain range, the police aircraft peeled away. Below, the cruisers reached a bottleneck as they tried to traverse off-road tracks. The chase was up. Only crazy people would try to weave their way through the densely packed peaks of the Achievement City mountain range and only idiots would do it in the growing darkness. They were home free.

The sirens started fading away, leaving just the sound of wind whipping past and the groan of propellers. City lights blinked away behind the peaks. Faint cheering sounded from below. Geoff tasted victory for a second, when at the edge of his hearing he picked up the purr of engines and an unfamiliar _thud-thud-thud._ The words _What the hell is that?_ were on his lips when the answer whizzed past him on either side.

“Biplanes!?” Gavin shouted, “Since when did they have the budget to get those?”

A plane flew right overhead, making a heavy _ker-clunk_ sound as it passed. Both of them realized what it was just in time to try and contain the explosion as the bomb hit the tail rudder. The ship rocked. Flames doused half the rooftop. Jets of red arced out from below, where Michael and Jeremy tried in vain to hit the biplanes flitting in the dark. Below, he heard Jack and Ryan frantically trying to right the ship, but it wouldn’t even out. Geoff blew away the flames to reveal a charred skeleton where the rudder and a back propellor should be.

“This things going down. Tell everyone to get off this piece of shit.”

“But what about the loot?” Gavin asked.

“Screw the loot, get everybody out.”

Gavin nodded, then unstrapped two wooden poles from his back that Geoff hadn’t noticed till now. “Snatched an extra back in the car. I knew it’d come in handy.”

He threw one to Geoff, before smacking his own against the roof of the airship. The staff unfurled its orange wings. Geoff did the same, and then the two leapt off the side of a smoking airship on a pair of antique gliders as the city burned behind them. They rounded the front of the airship so Ryan and Jack could see them and know loud and clear that it was time to abort. The two bolted for the cargo hold, snatching parachutes on the way. Geoff circled back around to keep the planes distracted. Gavin landed on the hood of the dangling car.

“Time to go, lads,” the airbender said.

Michael scowled. “Yeah, lemme just step outside and - nope, that’s the fucking sky.”

“Alright, no need to get jebby. Y’know, if you two had just hit those planes we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.”

“Fuck off,” both firebenders said.

Gavin smiled. They were so easy to rile up. Probably not a good thing, they could make him spontaneously combust with a snap of their fingers, but damn was it fun.

“Alright, alright chill out. Let’s get you boys out of here. Ey, Jack! Ryan! Got any extra parachutes!”

“Nope!” Jack answered, before she and Ryan leapt out of the cargo hold and their parachutes bloomed open below.

“Well. That is unfortunate.” Gavin turned to Jeremy. “So… rocket shoes?”

Jeremy groaned. “Not like I have a choice.”

“What about me? Not all of us can fucking fly,” Michael said.

“I’ll fly you out of here, boi, grab on my glider.”

“You? You think you can fucking carry me, are you fucking kidding?”

“ _I_ can’t, but the wind can.”

Michael rolled his eyes, but climbed onto the car hood and gripped the back of the glider. He turned back to the other firebender. “This is gonna be such a shitty way to die.”

Gavin ignored him. “Aren’t you afraid of heights, Lil J?”

“Yup,” Jeremy said, staring at the ground below. “I’m gonna jump out like a badass but I’m gonna let you know I’ll be shitting my pants the entire way down.”

With that the firebender opened the car door and jumped out, steering his way down with the fire shooting from his hands and feet. Gavin stared after him.

“Why can’t you do that?” He asked.

“Cuz I don’t fucking work out,” Michael said with a laugh. “And I’m not learning now so get us the fuck out of here.”

“Alright, let’s go boi!”

Gavin tipped over the hood and they were hurtling through the air, wind peeling back their faces. Being an airbender, Gavin loved it, loved the roar of the breeze past his ears and the way his stomach dropped in open air, loved falling as much as flying. Michael on the other hand, did not. To his credit, he didn’t scream, just shouted _Fuck, fuck, shit, fucking shit!_ until the glider evened out.    

Seeing everyone safely gone, Geoff dove to join the rest of his crew. The planes flew uncontested, lined up their shots, and a few seconds later the airship, and all the valuables in it, went up in a massive fireball. Smouldering bits of metal hailed down like molten rain. The triad members landed on the mountainside, staring off at the carnage from a distance. They watched the airship carcass crash into the mountainside, before one-by-one starting the long walk back to the city, empty handed.

* * *

 

“Well boys, you went down like a lead zeppelin,” Trevor said from the head of the table, “Literally.”

The Fakes were packed in a musty smelling room with peeling wallpaper and a single yellow light bulb. Not their main base of operations, just the backroom of one of the business fronts they owned. It seemed to be a bakery or cafe or something like that, judging from the cold pastries that were strewn across the table. It was a safe place to convene and wouldn’t be too big a loss if someone traced them back here. Didn’t make for the classiest of heist debriefs, though.

Their long, boardroom table was really just three regular tables pushed together in a row. The crew sat on a mix of sofas, dining chairs and bar stools that they’d dragged in from around the store. Geoff was at one end of the table, reclining on a rocking chair.

Ryan and Jack sat to his left while the lads shared a plush loveseat to his right. Farther down were their two firebending ladies, Lindsay and Fiona, sinking into a pair of cushy sofas. Even farther down sat their other airbender, Alfredo, and across from him was Matt, their earthbender who, unlike Ryan, was useful for things other than murder. Trevor stood directly opposite Geoff, his tailored blue overcoat wrinkled, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. It gave him a bit of an overworked madman vibe, which was accurate given his job as the leader of the chaotic mess they called a triad.

Trevor shook his head and looked down the table to six Fakes in particular. “As a heist crew, that was a pretty shit job. You’ll see that in your performance review.”

The crew boss gave an almost theatrical sigh, really playing up the head shaking and temple massaging. Geoff rolled his eyes.

“Thank god you weren’t actually a heist crew.” Trevor’s tired facade dropped, replaced by a beaming smile. “Everything went according to plan, you were a fucking fantastic distraction and the rest of us raided the ship and got the cars with all our goodies back to the warehouse safe and sound. Bring out the cactus juice, boys, this is a celebration!”

Cheers sounded from the room and a second later alcohol somehow materialized on the table. Drinks were passed around, congratulations for not dying were exchanged, and conversations started to layer over each other. Between it all, Ryan clinked together two soda bottles and rolled one over to Geoff.

"Thanks, Ryan."

Michael smiled in his direction. “And thank those spirits, huh, Geoff?”

Geoff crossed his arms and leaned his rocking chair backwards. “Don’t bring this shit back up.”

“I’m not bringing anything back up,” Michael said, taking a sip from his drink, “Just paying my dues. Right guys?”

He elbowed the lads beside him. Jeremy snorted. “The only spirits worth thanking is the one in my hand.”

“I’m telling you, spirits aren’t a joke,” Geoff sighed, “They’re out there, and don’t come crying to me when you get fucking possessed.”

“Yeah, spirits are real and I’m an Avatar,” Gavin said, “Let me just bend all the elements. Here, I’m gonna make some water bend.”

The airbender reached for a pitcher in the middle of the table and dumped the water out without preamble.

“Gavin!” Jack scolded, instantly bending the water into an orb so it didn’t spill over.

“Told you I could make it bend,” Gavin said.

“Dumbass.” The waterbender bent the liquid back into the pitcher but not before flicking some on said dumbass.

Geoff rolled his eyes at it all. It was his own fault, really, for thinking he could tell them he believed in spirits and not expect jokes about it. Didn’t help that nobody else in the crew believed in them. Except for Lindsay maybe, but that probably didn’t help his case. It got a little annoying sometimes, but he knew it was all in jest. Michael and the others couldn't care less what he believed in, unless they could make a joke out of it, in which case they descended like a flock of vultures.

“Look out now! We got some unboxing to do!” Trevor said. He hoisted a thatch sack up on the table and dumped out the contents: jewels and gold and ornate knick-knacks that reeked of age. “I grabbed one of the bags with me, y’know, just so we could examine the goods.”

The wares quickly spread around the table, passed along in turn unless someone found something they liked. Gavin was entranced by a string of candy colored jewels and Ryan was attached to a set of bone-white throwing knives. Geoff passed along most of the goods that reached him. He’d seen plenty of shiny old stuff before, but he had to pause when Trevor slid a flash of gold towards him.

“It suits you,” he said.

In Geoff’s hands was a crown, a six-pointed circlet of harsh gold. The inside was cushioned with obsidian black fur, soft to the touch. It was shiny for an antique and didn’t show any marks of age, not a crack or a stain. The only thing obviously wrong with it was that someone had torn the jewels out of it, if the four walnut-sized divots in the gold were anything to go by.

Everyone else was decking themselves out in gold chains and gemstone rings, so Geoff tossed the crown on his head. It fit perfectly. That was the last thing he in his mind before reality was ripped from under him.

Instead of the boardroom, he was on a lawn of green, four stone walls at the borders and a golden chair beneath him - a throne. He was looking through someone else’s eyes, he must’ve been. He’d never seen this place before. There were people marching in through a gate in the wall but he didn’t have time to catch faces before the vision was replaced by another. A battle was suddenly flying around him, fire and earth being tossed between the glint of iron armor. A warrior barreled towards him, sword in hand. The earth trembled. Winds roared in his ears. Another vision, another army. This time the army’s attention was on him - or, whoever he was at the moment. He rose into the air while the other elements somehow circled around him - earth, water, fire - and the army stared, terrified.

Back in reality, Geoff had sat bolt upright the instant the crown touched his head. His palms slammed on the table and a strong wind rushed through the room, rippling clothes and sending the single light bulb swinging. When the air settled, all eyes were on Geoff. The mood went from jovial to _What the actual fuck_ as they watched the man rise to his feet, eyes and tattoos beginning to glow. First, with barely the strength of a glow stick but growing until they they glared like spotlights.

“Geoff?” Jack choked out through the shock.

The airbender brought his arms up and snapped them outwards, sending out a vicious blast of wind. Antiques, chairs and people were flung into the wall, and this time, it didn’t stop with one gust. The wind kept rushing out, mounting in strength. The lightbulb swung and cracked. Antiques hurled into windows, shattering them. The other benders were pressed against the walls by storm force winds emanating from one man, winds stronger than any one man should’ve been capable of. The building was going to be torn down by a tornado from the inside.

It would have, if Ryan hadn’t peeled his arm off the wall and shot a cable at the airbender’s head, just strong enough to whack the crown to the floor. Instantly, the air stilled.

The room was in ruins. Broken glass dusted the scene, chairs were knocked over and drinks were spilled on the floor - probably how they would’ve left the room regardless, but still. Geoff stood there, silent as the rest of them, brain fizzling between _What the hell did I just see?_ and _What the hell did I just do?_

Silence didn’t last for long. They all started talking at the same time, a cacophony of “What the fuck just happened!” and “Is everyone okay?”  mixed with visceral swearing. Geoff didn’t say a word, just stared at the crown winking at his feet, wondering what in the world he’d gotten himself into.


	2. Lightning Strikes Twice

“Is this a fucking shenanigains?” Michael yelled, glaring at Gavin and Alfredo. “Were you two airbending with Geoff or some shit?”

“I didn’t do shit!” Alfredo yelled back.

“That’s a load of pap, Michael!’

“If you two are full of shit…”

“Michael, I was getting smeared behind a sofa, Michael!”

“It also doesn’t explain the glowing eyes,” Ryan added.

“None of this makes any fucking sense, what’s your fucking point?”

Jeremy groaned. “Does anyone have a bandage? I think there’s glass in my scalp.”

The room managed to change gears at that. Ryan went off to find a first aid kit, Trevor bent some spill water into ice packs for the bruised and Fiona dragged Matt Bragg out from behind a pile of chairs. He was a little dazed and sleepy but Matt was always like that so they assumed he was okay. 

While the room rearranged itself, Jack walked over to Geoff, who still hadn’t said a word. She laid a hand on his shoulder and shook it.

“Geoff… Geoff!”

“Huh, what?”

A smile pulled at Jack’s mouth. “Good, it’s still you in there. You alright?”

Geoff shrugged one shoulder. He really didn’t know.

Jack squeezed his arm. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll figure this out. Let’s all grab our seats and you can tell us what happened.”

He nodded and let Jack lead him away. The tables had been blown to the opposite side of the room so they just dragged a couple chairs from the floor and started forming a loose circle.

The others were still shouting, arguing, all around panicking, but seeing Jack and Geoff sitting silently like parents waiting for their kids to finish their tantrum helped ease the room.

Slowly, they settled down, pulling up chairs of their own. Four flames lit up the dark, the firebenders making up for the broken lightbulb. In the firelight, Geoff could see glances shot his way — worried, confused, even a little wary. He couldn’t blame them. Whatever just happened wasn’t like anything they’d ever seen before and it freaked everyone the fuck out. Like they’d seen a ghost. A ghost that wrecked your house and took the air out of your lungs. And that ghost was Geoff.

He pressed his palms into his eye sockets. He was not in the right state of mind to handle this right now. Whatever that crown did to him, it was like a punch in the face. Now he was all sore eyes and cotton ears, like a bad hangover on one of those old nights.

Thankfully, now it was Trevor’s job to plaster on a brave smile and rally the troops, but even he looked lost for words.

It was Michael who broke the silence with grace and nuance as always. “So what the fuck just happened?”

Geoff ran a hand over his face. “Fuck if I know.”

“How the fuck can you not know?”

“Michael...” Jack warned.

Michael slumped back in his chair. Trevor sat up and asked, “Can you run us through exactly what happened? From your point of view.”

“Look, I just put on that fucking crown and I blacked out.”

“You blacked out?” Trevor raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, I blacked out for a second and then I started… seeing things.”

“So you didn’t black out,” Ryan added wryly.

“No, I mean, I started  _ seeing _ things but not what was actually going on here.” 

“What do you mean?” Trevor asked.

“I was… somewhere else.” Geoff gulped. Just thinking about it sent adrenaline shooting through his veins again. “First it was like some field. Walled in and there was like a- a throne under me. Then I was in like a full on war and I was fighting and...”

“Were you airbending?” Trevor asked.

“Yeah, but I… I was bending all the elements.” It felt like an important distinction. That feeling of raw power coursing his veins as earth and fire and water danced through the air — it was indescribable. Nothing he could ever imagine. And so, so real he wasn’t sure he  _ was  _ imagining.

“So…” Ryan said, “You were hallucinating?”

“Yeah- no. I mean… it didn’t feel like something my head just made up. It was like- like a memory. Like I was really there.”

Silence met his words. They were trying to build a narrative, he knew, one where this was all a breakdown or a seizure or something explainable, but Geoff was blowing that out of the water. He knew it probably looked like he got possessed by a demon at this point, but he really wasn’t in the mood to dispute that. That also might’ve been what happened for all he fucking knew. 

“...This just keeps getting weirder,” Jeremy, who was still pressing gauze to his head, said.

“Did you… did you know what you were doing on this end?” Trevor asked.

Geoff shrugged. “I’m guessing I was airbending which is how all this happened.”

“Airbending?” Gavin said, “ You were bloody bending a tornado in the room like a lunatic!”

“It was a stupid amount of bending,” Alfredo said, “It shouldn’t have been possible.”

“And you were fucking glowing!” Michael said.

Geoff scrunched his eyebrows. “Glowing?”

“Your eyes and tattoos started lighting up.” Jack’s hand grazed over his arm. “Never seen anything like it.”

“That’s…” Geoff trailed off.

“It was fucking freaky is what it is,” Fiona said.

“It also shouldn’t be possible,” Ryan added.

“But it was kinda cool,” Jeremy said. “Terrifying, but cool.”

“That’s beside the point,” Ryan said, “People don’t just glow or bend tornadoes, how the fuck did that happen?”

“I put on a crown and blacked-out, I don’t fucking know, alright!

“Easy, boys,” Trevor said. “We’re all trying to figure this out.”

“Nobody knows shit, Trevor,” Michael growled.

“I think it’s ghosts and shit and I don’t mess with that stuff,” Fiona said. “I say we chuck that crown in the ocean and beg for forgiveness from whatever spirit we fucked with.”

“I second that,” Alfredo said.

“Okay, we can’t just throw this thing in the ocean. We gotta figure this out! You two are just wimps,” Jeremy said

“You can call me whatever you want, don’t catch me with that ghost shit,” Alfredo snapped back.

“But in that same vein — spirits,” Lindsay said, turning to Geoff. “People say they have spiritual encounters all the time. Maybe this was one of them.”

“Bullshit,” Michael said, “The people who say that are all crazy. It’s never spirits, it’s just the northern lights or someone fucking around or some old granny who doesn’t understand how TVs work.”

“Well how do you explain this? We’ve got eleven witnesses right here, we all saw what happened.”

“I don’t know, but spirits aren’t fucking real!”

“Geoff was fucking glowing, how the fuck do you explain that!”

“Shit glows! Fucking stars, fireflies, Jack’s healing water, I don’t know how but it’s not fucking spirits!”

“I’ll glow you, bitch,” Lindsay said, lighting a fire over her knuckles. Michael snorted.

“Easy, easy,” Trevor said. “Whatever the truth is you’re not gonna be able to punch it out, so settle down.”

“Fine,” Lindsay said, “But you have to admit, the spirit angle has something to it.”

The room swayed nervously. They’d all heard stories, rumors, but most didn’t think spirits were anything more than that, stories and rumors. But what they’d just seen was more than a story, more than  _ human,  _ and nobody had an explanation.

“I mean…” Jeremy spoke up, “It makes as much sense as everything else tonight.”

Trevor pursed his lips. “We’ll put that on the backburner.”

The tension was palpable. Everyone in the room was at their wits end, either freaked the fuck out or questioning metaphysics or both. 

“Does it really matter how or why this happened?” Jack said, “All that matters is what are we gonna do about it now.”

“Of course what happened matters!” Gavin said, “What if Geoff’s been possessed by a dark spirit without us knowing? Geoff, I’d hate to have to fight evil you, Geoff.”

“He’s not possessed,” Ryan said, “But you know, just in case… if anything happens, do we have permission to… take care of things?”

Geoff frowned. “If you mean slit my throat, yeah, sure.”

“There,” Ryan said, content.

Jack shook her head. “You didn’t have to make this about murder, but you always do.”

“It’s not murder if it’s consensual.”

“Jesus,” Jack said. “Anyway, ignoring that, what are we going to do?” 

Silence filled the room again. Finally, Trevor spoke up.

“We’re not throwing it into the ocean. But-” He paused to let Fiona and Alfredo get out their _bitch what’s_ before continuing, “I will put it in a safe at the base. We won’t mess with it until we find out more.” He looked across the room, meeting everyone’s eyes, with the air of a leader he didn’t put on often. “We need more info.”

First, he turned to Lindsay. “Lindsay, you like digging into history. Can you see what you can find about any crowns or Avatar powers and all that?”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

“Fiona, Matt? Can you look back into the heist? See what you can find out about the museum and the people we stole this from?”

“Got it,” Fiona said while Matt nodded, still pretty out of it.

“I’ll find someone to clean this place up. We’ll talk more soon, but right now we should probably skedaddle. Someone's definitely filed a noise complaint by now and we don’t need anymore trouble.”

They all started to stand, letting out semi-satisfied breaths. 

Before anyone could leave, Trevor spoke up once more. “Oh, and Geoff? Meet me out front. We need to talk.”

* * *

 

There was a lot of  _ ooh- _ ing at Trevor calling him out, like a kid being called out by the principal, but Geoff didn’t give a shit about that. For one thing, Trevor may be the boss but Geoff was still the de facto leader. They were more or less equals in the vague hierarchy the triad had. Second, he caught a look on Trevor’s face, a troubled one, that made the situation feel more like a kid who needed their dad’s advice. And third Geoff was just too fucking tired to care.

Regardless, he met Trevor in front of the shop as the rest of the crew started up their cars and mopeds. Jack sat in her car just out of earshot, waiting for Geoff.

“What’s up, Trevor?” he asked, hands in his pockets.

Trevor got right to the point. “Before I got here, I got a message.”

“From?”

“Zolt. The Triple Threats.”

Geoff’s blood ran cold. “And what the fuck did he want?”

“A meeting.”

Geoff grit his teeth.

“I don’t like it either,” Trevor said, “But we can’t afford to straight up say no to him.”

“Then tell him I have a fucking dentist appointment.”

“Geoff…”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I need you to think about this rationally. We're not getting out of this.”

“There’s nothing rational about this,” Geoff massaged his head and sighed. “So what do we know?”

“A messenger rolled up by me before I got here, said Zolt wanted to see us tomorrow, noon, it’s all set up. We’re meeting on neutral ground, somewhere on the bay. He said they’d be bringing a party of four, so we’ll bring the same.”

Four. A strong number. Four elements, four seasons. Four people who might be walking into a catgator’s jaws.

Geoff shook his head, just so tired from everything today. “You can’t just talk about this like it’s another fucking business meeting.”

“I have to because that's all we can hope for. That this is just business, in and out." 

“Right. Who are you thinking of bringing,” Geoff said, but his voice was too monotone to be a question.

“Well, he wants to see me and you,” Trevor said, “And I was thinking Jack and Ryan. They’re good at close quarters. If y’know, anything happens.”

Geoff grit his teeth, his chest tightening. Jack and Ryan, their two eldest, most experienced. He would’ve picked the same. Honestly, it might've been smart to bring one of their smooth talkers, Gavin or Alfredo, but there was no fucking way he was gonna do that. This was bad enough. The younger guys... he couldn’t stand it if they got caught in the crossfire of this dumb fuck situation. If anything happened...

“Do you think anything’s gonna happen?” Geoff asked.

“I dunno, all I know is that if we don’t go, something will definitely happen and we can’t afford that right now.”

“When have we ever been able to afford it?” 

Geoff looked out to the others making their way out on beat-up roadsters and mopeds. The Fakes were loud and fierce, but they were a tiny, newborn gang in the grand scheme of things. The Triple Threats? The Triple Threats weren't just another gang in the city — they  _ were  _ the city. The triad laced their way through every street and institution, making the city hell for other gangs and innocents alike. They’d been here since before Geoff was born, before his mother was born and before her mother was born. Ignoring a call from them would be a death sentence.

Geoff sighed. “Do you at least know what the meeting’s about?”

Trevor pulled one of his madman smiles. “Not a single clue.”

* * *

 

“So what was that about?” Jack asked, revving the engine as Geoff got into the passenger side of the car.

“We got a summons.”

“From?” she said without looking up.

“Zolt.”

She pulled off into the road.  It was late at night, few cars but plenty of night crawlers, neon signs blurring at the side of their vision. They moved silently, headed for a safehouse on the other side of town.

Finally, Jack broke the quiet. “Shit.”

Geoff about expected that. “Yeah, I know.”

Jack glanced at him and tried for a smile. “Look at the bright side: we’re finally big enough for them to notice us. I bet young us would be so proud.”

“Yippee. We’re one of the big dogs.”

Jack creased her eyebrows. “Are you doing alright? That… crown thing really took a number on you.”

“I don’t know. I’m tired as dicks.”

“You did bend a fuckton.”

“I don’t even think that’s it. It was just those fucking visions, it like pulled my brain out of my skull and threw it back in and it still doesn’t feel like I’m fully here. ”

“Breathe. One thing at a time.”

“Tell that to the universe. It just loves piling problems on me all at once.”

“That’s never stopped us before,” Jack smiled. “Now breathe. The crown can wait. When’s the meeting with Zolt?”

“Tomorrow.”

Jack nodded. “Who’s going?”

“Trevor, me, Ryan and…” Geoff looked over at Jack, which was enough to get the message across. She pursed her lips and nodded.

“You don’t have to,” Geoff added. “Someone else can go-”

“Hell no. I’m going no matter what you say. We ran out of this city, came back, started up a crew, just the two of us. If you think you’re gonna face the Triple Threats without me beside you, you’re dead wrong.” 

Geoff couldn’t help the smile pulling at his lips. 

“Thanks, Jack. I just hope…”

“We’ve gotten past worse odds and that was with just the two of us. We’ll get through this.”

“I just don’t to fuck something up.”

“Even if we fuck something up,” she said, “There’s no one I’d rather fuck up besides than you.”

* * *

 

They met up the next morning dressed in an odd mix of classy and deadly. Trevor's suit was pressed, navy blue, and hiding two full water pouches at his hips. Jack was openly carrying a pair of waterskins across her back while wearing her best fur pelt around her waist. Ryan looked mostly the same with shining metal bands around his arms, but he wasn’t wearing his dad jeans for once. And Geoff, well, he was always classy with his black suit and gold pin, and seeing that air was always with him, he was always deadly too.

They met at a decrepit, red-brick building with mildew growing up the sides and coal stains running down. There were two men at the front, definitely benders, though Geoff couldn’t tell what element. They opened the door for them, tailing them behind until they reached a room within the building. The opened the door for them again, and closed them behind.

“Ey, there you are! Ramsey! Good to see ya,” a voice, loud and boisterous boomed. 

Zolt stared at them from across a steel table, eyes almost streetlight orange under the electric bulbs. A woman stood behind him, the fourth of his party, with green eyes and open soled shoes that screamed earthbender. 

They walked in, Jack and Trevor on either side of Geoff, and Ryan hanging just a step back. There were no chairs, no windows, kinda like one of the Fakes’ heist planning rooms, but with none of the familiar, creative energy, just Zolt and his crocodile smile. Zolt pointed towards Trevor.

“And you, the new boss right?” Zolt jibbed, “Nice to meet another industry professional. What was your name again?”

“Collins,” Trevor answered. The fact he only offered his last name and the iciness he said it with made Geoff’s skin crawl.

“Good to meet you, pal.” He said, reaching over to pat Trevor on the shoulder.

When Zolt turned his attention back to him, Geoff crossed his arms and met his eyes. "So, why'd you call us here?"

"Already down to business, ey Ramsey?"

"We're a little pressed on time and this was pretty short notice." A bold-faced lie. It was post-heist day so Geoff would probably be sunbathing on his balcony if he wasn't here instead.

“I’m here to speak on behalf of a client,” he said, then drummed his hands on the table. “I heard your heist on the radio. Impressive work. Your team’s good at that stuff, huh? Putting on a show?”

“What does this have to do with anything?” Geoff snapped, which earned him icy glares from Jack and Trevor.

Zolt just grinned. “It has everything to do with this, actually. My client’s one of the people you stole from yesterday.”

Silence filled the room. Here was their first glimpse at what the issue at hand was, and now they had to tread carefully.

“It was fair game,” Trevor said. “They didn’t have protection, not from us or you.”

“That’s true,” Zolt shrugged, “Usually I don’t take calls after the fact, but this guy was very uh…  _ persistent _ . And very willing to pay. So I said I’d see what I could do. And here we are.”

“Well what does he want?” Geoff asked. “For us to give his stuff back? If he’s got enough money to pull your strings why the fuck does he need that shit back?”

Zolt scowled at the mention of strings. “Let’s keep this civil, Ramsey. He says you can keep your stuff, he just wants one thing back in particular.” He slid a sheet of paper on the table. It had a crudely sketched picture in the center — a six-pointed crown. 

It was lucky they’d brought some of the most controlled people in the crew to the meeting because anything less and they all would’ve jumped back.

“Why does he want this?” Jack asked, tone blank. Geoff wanted to ask the same thing, but his voice might’ve shook.

Zolt shrugged. “I don’t ask those kinds of questions. I don’t think you should either.”

The four of them stared at the piece of paper. Any other thing and this would’ve been open and shut, but no, it just had to be the fucking demon crown didn’t it? What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

“So, do you have it?” Zolt asked again.

Geoff was silent for a moment, before he met Zolt’s eyes and returned to the vaguely hostile tone he’d been working with. 

“What’s in it for us?” 

Zolt seemed to have enough of it though. “How about I let your shitshow of a triad keep playing in the sandbox, eh? Maybe if you’re good about this I’ll spare a bit of cash. I know you’re having trouble with that these days.”

Geoff and Jack had murder in their eyes.

“Let’s keep this civil, Zolt,” Trevor said tone smooth. He was angry though, because when Trevor got angry you could feel it in your veins. Your blood ran cold, like there was frost blooming under your skin. Trevor swore he couldn't bloodbend, but Geoff couldn’t help but think otherwise as he stood there, fighting back a shiver.

“I’ve been nothing but civil. Now tell me:  _ where is it _ .”

“We don’t have it,” Geoff said.

He could feel the two still beside him, Ryan’s eyes on his back, but all he could focus on was Zolt glaring into him.

“Really? You’ve looked through all your loot already and you’re telling me you don’t have it.”

“You heard me.”

“I want you to remember who you’re talking to.”

Trevor spoke before either of them went for the other’s throat. “We didn’t take everything from those ships and we lost things in the explosion. It could’ve been there.”

Zolt sneered. He looked behind him, to the earthbender who hadn’t said anything the whole conversation. She walked up to him and whispered something in his ear before walking back to her spot in the corner.

“Let me introduce you to my friend here. You see, she’s an earthbender, truthseer actually, very rare these days. Can tell whether you’re lying by picking up your heart rate through the floor,” he picked up the drawing of the crown. “She tells me your side of the room got a little nervous when I brought this out.”

Geoff was suddenly very aware of hard his heart was beating. “And?”

“Tell me again where the crown is."

There was lightning behind Zolt’s tone, but Geoff put his hands on the table, leaned in and doubled down. 

“ _ We don’t have it. _ ”

“That’s a fucking _ lie _ .”

Ryan slammed a fist on the table, warping the metal surface. “Tell your truthseer to wash her fucking feet. We don’t have the crown. We’re done here.”

Zolt stared at the black mask, his lips twitching into a smile. "Vagabond, right? Got an impressive kill list?" His smile wiped off his face. "Try that shit again and you'll be adding your friends here to the list of people you got killed."

Ryan clenched his fist, close to snapping and finishing this meeting on his terms, but slowly, he took a step back.

Geoff met back with Zolt’s eyes. "We told you what we told you. Are we done here?"

"You tell me."

Geoff glared.  _ Last chance,  _ he seemed to whisper.  _ Whatever you choose to do next, it’s all on you. _

“We’re done here,” Geoff said. “Let’s go.”

The doors opened for them again, and the four made their way outside. Past the building, down the street, they were all silent, bathing in the aftermath of whatever had just happened. It wasn’t until they were back in the car, making their way to the warehouse, that Trevor spoke up.

“That was… that was a choice.”

* * *

 

“So you’re telling me you, Trevor and  _ Matt Bragg _ used to be part of a probending team?” Fiona asked to the table. 

There were five of them, all the firebenders and Matt, waiting around in the warehouse for Geoff and the others to come back. Hopefully in one piece. They were doing their best to keep their minds off the potential trainwreck happening at that very moment so they traded stories, and Fiona, being the newest of the group, tended to catch all the little things the others let slip that really needed more explanation.

“Is it really that hard to believe?”

Fiona stared wide eyed at Jeremy’s answer.

“Matthew Bragg. Probending. Those don’t go together.”

Jeremy shrugged. “Look, I didn’t say we were any good.”

“Ah c’mon, you guys weren’t that bad,” Lindsay said, “You guys had a good season. I remember cheering for the Stream Team in the qualifiers.”

“And we lost that qualifier if you remember. The other team’s firebender singed my hair so bad I had to shave it all off.”

“Stream Team,” Michael laughed. “What does that even mean? It’s not even an animal.”

“It rhymed. And we had a good jingle,” Matt said.

Fiona shook her head, still incredulous. “How does that team up even happen? I’ve never seen Matt bend anything heavier than a pebble.”

“That’s not true!” Matt said. 

“Please Fiona, he’s retired,” Michael said. 

Jeremy ignored them both. “We were old friends with not a lot going for us and I kinda nudged them to try out the probending thing. We made it work. For a bit at least.”

“How?”

Jeremy shrugged. “I was the muscle. Trevor was the strategist. Matt was…”

“Moral support,” Lindsay offered.

“Yeah, that.”

“And why’d you stop?” Fiona asked.

Jeremy leaned into his chair and frowned. “The Pro League’s crooked, just like everything else in this fucking city. Triads run betting pools then pay off teams to throw matches in their favour. Or they bribe the refs. There was a lot of that going on around us. But yeah, we were pretty shit anyway.”

“Trash,” Michael said. 

“I think we were down three games when you found us.”

“I think Geoff’s words were ‘Find the most beat-down, washed-up fuckers you can find and bring them back,’” Michael said. He saw Fiona raise an eyebrow and explained, “We needed extra muscle for a heist so we checked the arena and found these guys. Ended up liking Jeremy and Trevor so much we decided to keep them. Oh, and they were kind of a package deal so we took Matt Bragg too.”

“I resent that. But that’s probably how it went.”

“Oh Matt, we love you,” Lindsay said.

“Myatt!” Fiona said, which lead everyone else to chorus  _ Myatt!  _ too.

The door slammed open and Gavin stood in the doorway with something glittering in his hands.

“Mission success!” he said, raising the crown to the sky.

Fiona almost jumped out of her chair. “What the fuck? Why the fuck do you have that?”

“What? There’s a potentially magic crown in the building and you expect me to not go looking?”

“Yes! I do!”

Gavin shared a look with the others at the table, before he turned back to Fiona. “You haven’t been here long enough.”

“I can’t believe you got it,” Jeremy said.

“Of course he did,” Michael snorted. “There’s a lot of shit Gavin doesn’t know, but picking locks ain’t one of them. You know how we first found this fucker? We were heisting a bank and somehow his ass was already in the vault when we got there. None of the locks were broken, none of the alarms were tripped. To this day he still won’t tell us how he did it.”

“Well, I gotta keep some secrets, boi.”

Lindsay held her hands up. “Gav, pass it here.” 

He tossed the gold into the air and into Lindsay’s hands.

“Why did I do that?” Gavin said instantly, because that was  _ Lindsay  _ he’d just handed that to.

“Don’t you dare fucking wear that,” Fiona said, one leg up on her chair to lean away from Lindsay.

“It’s fine, I just wanna see it.”

“Be careful,” Jeremy said. “I don’t wanna know what it looks like for a firebender to go berserk.”

“Don’t worry, I just wanna look at it, check it out, y’know? Is this real gold?” She nibbled on it to check.

“Jesus christ,” Michael whispered.

“Real. Tastes dusty.”

“Is there anything on the crown? Any bumps on the inside or something?” Matt asked.

“Nope. Nothing special,” she said, turning it in her hands. “Spirits, man, I’m telling you.”

“It’s not fucking spirits!” Michael yelled.

Matt ignored him. “I was thinking maybe there was something that hit some pressure points or something. Just an idea. I’m not actually sure how that stuff works.”

“I can ask my acupuncturist,” Lindsay said. “It’s as good a lead as any. The book research hasn’t really done much good anyway.”

“No luck?” Matt asked.

She shook her head. “Too much to search. I have a couple of books in mind and this like 8 hour radio documentary about Avatar myths in different cultures but there’s so much and I don’t know if anything’s relevant. I got Alfredo looking into something for me though. We’ll see if we get anywhere.”

“It’s gonna take forever to get info on this thing, isn’t it?” Gavin said, less of a question, and more of lead up.

“Looks like it,” she said.

“You know what we should do?”

“Yeah?” 

Gavin’s face split in a grin. “Testing.”

Jeremy groaned. “This doesn’t sound good for me…”

“You’re practically offering yourself up at this point,” Michael said.

“I am not putting that thing on.”

“C’mon, Lil J! It’s for science!” Gavin said.

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Do you not remember what happened to Geoff yesterday?”

“Of course I remember, and that’s why I wanna figure this out! For Geoff! C’mon Lil J!”

“It is for science,” Michael muttered, “It’d be a shame not to do anything.”

“Yeah!” Gavin said.

“Stop it, Michael,” Jeremy muttered.

“I’m not doing anything,” he shrugged. “Just don’t be a wimp. Now who was it who said that yesterday… oh wait.” 

“Fine! I’ll do it!” Those two really were the worst enablers. 

“Are you fucking serious?” Fiona asked.

Jeremy sighed. “I mean, he’s got a point.”

“Ohhh no, I’m not getting wrapped up in this shit. I’m out.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Hell yeah. You’re all fucking insane. I already told you, I’m not messing with that ghost shit.”

“We don’t know its ghost shit, though,” Lindsay argued.

“Whatever, I’m out. Someone’s gotta report to Trevor when you all get possessed.” She stood up from her chair. “I’m gonna go find Fredo, he’s the only other one with a brain when it comes to this shit.” 

She flicked Michael’s hat off his head on the way out.

“That was aggressive,” Michael said.

“But she’s not wrong,” Jeremy sighed. He knew this was a bad idea, but he couldn’t back out now. “Matt, can you earthbend me some cuffs?”

“Kinky,” Lindsay said.

Jeremy sighed again. Shoulda seen that one coming. “Look, we all saw what happened to Geoff. If I go apeshit, I want things to be under control.”

“Here Jeremy,” Matt said. 

The earthbender bent a wad of stone around his wrists. Jeremy put his hands on the table and tried to wiggle out of the cuffs. They didn’t budge.

“Ankles to the chair legs too,” he said.

Matt raised an eyebrow but did as asked. “You’re putting way more trust in us than I would.”

“Well, this is like at the top of the list of dumb shit I let Gavin convince me to do so we need that extra protection.”

“Good point.”

“You’re such a good sport, Jeremy,” Gavin said, waltzing behind him with the crown winking in his hands.

“Shut up, just get it over with.”

“Hold on, I’m gonna get some distance,” Matt said.

“Not a bad idea,” Michael said. He and Lindsay followed Matt over to a stack of boxes and took cover, peeking over the top.

“Really? This was your idea!” Jeremy yelled.

“It was Gavin’s idea and I’m not a fucking dumbass!” Michael yelled back.

Jeremy was about to yell something again when he felt the air shift above his head. The crown hovered in Gavin’s hands, a few millimeters from Jeremy’s skin. He couldn’t help but gulp.

“Alright, you ready Jeremy?” 

He flashed back to last night, the air peeling at his skin and Geoff with glowing, soulless eyes.

“As I’ll ever be.”

He held his breath as the crown settled on his skin, lighter than he expected, and cold. A rush of energy pumped through his veins, and Jeremy thought ‘Oh shit.’ Something was happening. He waited, the darkness of his eyelids all he could see. He waited, and waited, and waited...

He opened his eyes to see… the warehouse, Lindsay, Michael, Gavin and Matt peeking at him from behind the boxes. 

“Uh…” Jeremy said oh so eloquently.

“Wait, what?” Matt said. “No bending, no glowy eyes?”

“Alright, who broke it! Gavin?” Michael yelled.

“I didn’t do anything!”

While they argued, Jeremy flexed his finger in his cuffs. The energy was still there, flowing through him, making him feel antsy, almost shaking.

“Wait… wait, can you let me out of these Matt?”

Matt bent the the restraints off with a stomp and Jeremy stood. His blood was warmer in his veins, like he was hyped up on adrenaline. He wound up his arm to punch out a flame. As the energy left his knuckles, he could tell that something was very, very different. Instead of a puff of flame, an entire wall of fire roared forward before crashing on the concrete wall, larger and hotter than anything he’d ever bent before. Heat blasted backwards towards them, searing the air in the room.

The others were shocked into silence.

“Fuck,” Lindsay said. 

“How’d you do that!” Gavin shrieked.

“Y’know, I just kinda-” Jeremy made a little punching motion again, expecting a puff of flame. A torrent of fire barreled into the wall again. “Oops. Sorry.”

“What the fuck? I wanna try that!” Lindsay said.

“Hey!” Jeremy said as she yoinked the crown off his head.

She placed it on her own and instantly sent out a heavy punch. A plume of fire roared forwards.

“Fuck yes,” she said, and then just started blasting. 

Her fire wasn’t as powerful as Jeremy’s was, but that kinda made sense. Lindsay wasn’t the strongest bender, her fire too chaotic and closely tied to her emotions. She had power though, they all knew it, it just didn’t come out with regular firebending. They were always stumped on what to do about it though. Michael once tried to teach her lightning and ended up so frustrated he was ready for someone to shoot him dead by the end of the day.

Seeing her blasting was definitely a sight. And it had them ducking for cover because control was never her strong suit either.

“This is awesome!” Lindsay yelled.

“Hey, pass it here!” Michael said, running out to her.

Meanwhile, Gavin looked completely dumbfounded. “So how come Geoff freaked out, but you guys are fine?”

“I dunno, Gav. You’re the scientist here, I’m just the guinea pig.”

“Maybe it… doesn’t work on firebenders?”

“Maybe.”

The conversation was cut short in an instant. Jeremy felt it first - every single one of his hairs standing on end. An ear-shattering wave of thunder shook into his bones and suddenly all he could see was pure white light. Lightning shooting towards the far wall, hundreds of tendrils flailing out from the main streak. When the light cleared, Michael stood in the center of the room, smoke wafting from his fingertips and crown shining on his head.

“ _ Jesus christ _ . Give us a warning next time…” The words curled up in Jeremy’s throat. Electricity was still arcing off Michael’s hands, the sound bouncing all around the room. The firebender was silent, turning to look at them, eyes glowing as bright as lightning. 

Jeremy’s stomach dropped. Facing a lightning bender alone was terrifying. This was on a whole other level of scary. The only thought in his head was ‘Fuck, I really should’ve taken that lighting redirection class when I had the chance’. He hoped getting shot by lightning wasn’t as bad a death as he heard it was.

While they were all pissing their pants about to get electrocuted, Lindsay pulled a wild card and rushed straight for Michael, tackling him to the ground. The crown went flying off his head.

“What the fuck!” Michael yelled.

“What the fuck me? What the fuck you?” she yelled back.

“What the hell is going on?” Trevor yelled too, stomping into the warehouse, Geoff at his tail.

They took in the sight — Michael and Lindsay rolling on the floor, the three idiots cowering behind a crate and the new burn marks on the wall.

Trevor pointed at the crown knocked on the ground. “How the hell did you get that?”

“Found it,” Gavin said.

“I— nevermind. What happened?”

“Well, we were doing some testing and Michael went apeshit like Geoff.”

“You wore it!” Geoff yelled. 

“Well what did you think was going to happen?” Trevor said.

“Jeremy and Lindsay tried it on and nothing happened to them,” Gavin defended.

“I… whatever,” Trevor rubbed his temple, “Just put it back, please.”

With that Gavin, grabbed the crown and headed back to the safe.

“Michael, you alright?” Geoff asked, walking up towards the firebender on the floor.

“I feel like I just got thrown to the ground,” Michael said. “Oh wait.”

“You’re welcome,” Lindsay said. 

“How are you feeling?” Geoff asked again, kneeling by him.

“Like shit. I saw those visions like you said but, ugh… I feel like shit.”

“I feel ya, buddy. Lindsay, can you throw him on a couch somewhere? We can talk later.”

Lindsay nodded and heaved Michael to his knees, leading him out of the room.

Geoff stood up and looked towards Jeremy and Matt. “So. What happened?”

“Gavin found the crown, said he wanted to test it out so he bullied me into wearing it,” Jeremy explained plainly.

“Sounds like Gavin,” Trevor said. “So nothing happened when you wore it?”

“Yeah. Me and Lindsay both. We thought maybe it didn’t work on firebenders but then Michael tried it and…”

“And shit hit the fan,” Matt finished.

“I’m guessing that’s putting it lightly.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy said, “What happened with you? How’d the meeting go?”

Geoff and Trevor shared a tense look.

Trevor sighed. “We’re still alive which is something, but we’re definitely in hot water now.”

“Now that’s putting it lightly,” Geoff muttered.

“What did he want?” Jeremy asked.

Geoff looked at the scorch marks on the wall. “The thing that just made Michael almost torch the place.”

“The crown?” Matt and Jeremy said in unison.

“Yup.”

“Shit,” Jeremy muttered. “Why? How does he even know about it? We’re not actually giving it to him, right?”

“We’re not giving him anything,” Geoff said, steel in his voice. “We can’t risk that.”

“No,” Trevor said, “We’re just risking our entire hides by not giving it to him.”

Geoff glared at Trevor. “What else did you want me to do?”

Jeremy sensed a tension between them there. The two heads of the crew not seeing exactly eye to eye. That could be just as dangerous as whatever the hell went down with Zolt.

“You’re right, you’re right,” Trevor conceded, “I’ve just got a big mess on my plate and I keep thinking if there was anything we could’ve done to fix this.”

“I don’t trust Zolt or anyone who works with him. And it’s  _ our _ mess, asshole. We’ll figure this shit out together.”

“Yeah, just… we gotta get working. Figure out what that crown is and who wants it and what Zolt’s gonna do now.”

“That’s the spirit,” Matt chuckled.

“Is now a bad time?” Alfredo said from the doorway.

“C’mon in,” Trevor said. “You were helping Lindsay with research right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if you have info, we need it now more than ever. What do you have?”

“Well, nothing yet.”

Jeremy snorted and Trevor made an offended sound. “Don’t lead me on like that, man!”

“Wait. I don’t have info, but I’ve got something else.”

“What’ve you got?” Geoff asked.

He walked up to the table, rolled up papers under his arms. “Here’s the thing, we don’t know shit about that crown. And with how it’s been going so far, we could search for years and learn nothing.”

“That’s what Lindsay said,” Jeremy recalled.

“Right. But what we do know is that thing is old. And weird. And it might be dipping into that spirit shit, we don’t know. And there’s one place that stores all the info on that kinda stuff.”

“Where?” Trevor asked.

Alfredo slapped down a sheet on the table, a blueprint of a huge, ancient looking building. “Air Temple Island. The monks keep all the oldest, rarest books in there. If there’s any information on that crown, it’s there, or it’s nowhere.”

They stared down at the map, at the huge spires and cavernous rooms, the long winding corridors and myriad of inaccessible rooms. Well, inaccessible for now. When they needed information, no room was forbidden ground and right now, they were desperate to figure out anything. When they looked back up, they were all on the same page. 

“Sounds like a heist,” Trevor said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter I learned that if you have 11 characters, no one stops fucking talking. And, yes, I took villain names from Legend of Korra because it works and I’m not about to devise a whole new crime syndicate here.
> 
> Also, I’ll be honest, I’m probably never gonna finish this. Treat ever chapter like the last because that’s how I’m handling it, just a fun project I’ll dabble in now and then, but I’m giving myself no expectation of finishing this. I think I'll do at least another chapter because next up is Heist #2: Air Temple Boogaloo and heist scenes are fun as fuck.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr's [@achievement-bender](https://achievement-bender.tumblr.com/) if you want to talk about this AU because boy howdy do I want to.


End file.
